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How should an entrepreneur go about creating an employee handbook? What's a best practice?
To help entrepreneurs create their employee handbooks, we asked start-up founders and CEOs this question for their best insights. From including state-specific and company policies to seeking input from employees, there are several ideas that may serve as best practices for you in creating a comprehensive employee handbook for your business.
Here are nine best practices for creating an employee handbook:
- Include State-specific and Company Policies
- Hire HR Expert To Write Your Handbook
- Incorporate Your Company Culture
- Draw From Other’s Handbooks and Online Resources
- Avoid Including Policies You Don’t Intend To Implement
- Use a Template as a Guide
- Make it User-friendly and Easy-to-Understand
- Anticipate Regular Reviews and Updates
- Seek Input From Employees
Avoid Including Policies You Don’t Intend To Implement
There’s a lot of information that can go into an employee handbook, and depending on the size of the organization or the range of information it wishes to include in it, can go from a few dozen pages to a few hundred. However, every entrepreneur must first consider the scope of their organization and its employees before getting down to including the range of details in their handbook. You really don’t have to include every detail that other organizations may have lined up. Instead, pay attention to the policies that are truly at the center of your operations and include only those you wish to adopt and enforce. This way, you will have a concise document that despite its small size, will be comprehensive enough for your organization and its employees.
Azmaira Maker, Ph.D., Aspiring Families
Hire HR Expert To Write Your Handbook
Hire an agency to get all your HR documents including employee handbooks written for you. Your time is too valuable as an entrepreneur establishing the operations systems to learn all the HR codes and requirements for the handbook. Utilizing a company like Gusto, which integrates payroll processing and HR services (including employee handbooks, employment templates and letters, etc.) specific to the state you operate in will save you time, money (from hiring an in-house HR employee) and most importantly, brainpower.
Chris Vaughn, Emjay
Incorporate Your Company Culture
Your employee handbook should be a reflection of your company's core values, mission, and vision. From code of conduct, compensation, and performance, to benefits, leaves, health, and safety, all of these elements of your employee handbook should have aspects of your company culture interwoven. As you scale your business, your company culture might evolve and so it’s important to update your employee handbook on a regular basis.
Jamie Baxter, Qwick
Draw From Other’s Handbooks and Online Resources
Use online resources and look into employee handbook examples that you can pull from to craft your own. Find ones where the tone, values, and policies resonate with you and use them as a guide. There is no reason to have to recreate the wheel completely. Look for inspiration in what others have done and make it your own based on your unique company and its expectations for employees.
Sumeer Kaur, Lashkaraa
Avoid Including Policies You Don’t Intend To Implement
There’s a lot of information that can go into an employee handbook, and depending on the size of the organization or the range of information it wishes to include in it, can go from a few dozen pages to a few hundred. However, every entrepreneur must first consider the scope of their organization and its employees before getting down to including the range of details in their handbook. You really don’t have to include every detail that other organizations may have lined up. Instead, pay attention to the policies that are truly at the center of your operations and include only those you wish to adopt and enforce. This way, you will have a concise document that despite its small size, will be comprehensive enough for your organization and its employees.
Azmaira Maker, Ph.D., Aspiring Families
Use a Template as a Guide
There's nothing wrong with using a template to save time while creating an employee handbook, but entrepreneurs must edit and adapt the template to suit their unique business. If you're not sure where to start, a template acts as a guide, with page headings and bulleted lists of everything you need to include. But everything specific to how you run your business will have to be modified from the template or drafted from scratch. Especially for small businesses that might be short on time & know-how, employee handbook templates are extremely helpful, but they are more of a tool than an easy solution.
Jaymee Messler, The Gaming Society
Make it User-friendly and Easy-to-Understand
While an employee handbook may be a comprehensive guide with loads of information in it, it is important that the entrepreneur makes it user-friendly to help it achieve its purpose. Despite the exhaustive nature of the handbook, the document should be easy to comprehend and designed in a structured manner that makes it easy for employees and managers to zero in on specific sets of information. Moreover, the handbook should be easily and readily accessible to all employees, irrespective of their designation within the organization.
Mary Jurgensen, Gary and Mary West PACE
Anticipate Regular Reviews and Updates
An entrepreneur should consult a lawyer when creating an employee handbook. A best practice is to make sure the handbook covers hiring and firing procedures, as well as policies on anti-discrimination, harassment, and leave. The handbook should also outline expectations for employee conduct and productivity. In addition, the handbook should be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure that it reflects the latest changes in the law and best practices.
Nathan Richardson, Bariatric Journal
Seek Input From Employees
Get your employees involved in its creation and implementation. One of the greatest benefits to a startup is that their size often gives you the flexibility to involve your employees in foundational decisions that will affect them going forward. Employees know best about what they need from a handbook, as well as what kind of behavior they want to prevent. Involving them in its creation is a great way to build company loyalty while making sure the content remains helpful and appropriate to them.
John Jacob, Hoist
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